In Thursday night's double-overtime thriller, the No. 5 Virginia women's soccer team played the No. 22 Florida State Seminoles to a 1-1 draw at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers shut down the potent Seminole attack after halftime and prevented it from registering a shot over the rest of the game. Virginia, however, was unable to add a second goal and now stands at 7-1-3 (1-0-2).
The Cavaliers came out of the gates extremely quickly and aggressively -- within the first 15 minutes of the game Virginia came up with two good scoring chances and consistently beat Florida State up and down the field.
That all changed, however, within a matter of minutes. The Seminoles recorded the first goal scored by an opposing team at Klöckner Stadium this season. Late in the 17th minute, Florida State senior forward Holly Peltzer dribbled past two Virginia defenders and snuck the ball past redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chantel Jones to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead.
The Cavs missed a golden opportunity to even the score eight minutes later as senior midfielder Julia Falk just missed connecting off a beautiful centering pass from sophomore forward Caitlin Miskel.
Virginia's defense was then put to the test as it faced two dangerous situations. Jones made a great save that prevented Florida State from taking a two-goal lead in the 35th minute. A great leading pass from a Florida State midfielder hit a Seminole forward streaking down the field in stride. Anticipating a one-on-one confrontation, Jones rushed out of the goal and denied Florida State's great opportunity. Minutes later, Jones came up with a second world-class save as she sprawled out to save a blistering Seminole free kick opportunity.
All things considered, Virginia was lucky to end the half with only a one goal deficit.
Virginia came out strong in the second half and took the fight right to the Seminoles. In the 52nd minute junior defender Sarah Senty scored an unassisted goal off an unsettled situation in front of the Florida State goal. Senty grabbed the loose ball, spun around to avoid a Seminole defender, dribbled two steps and blasted a bending shot that avoided Seminole goalkeeper Erin McNulty's outstretched hands. Senty's attempt hit the back of the net and gave a much-needed boost to the Cavalier faithful at Klöckner.
"I can't remember [the goal]," Senty said. "The lane opened up and I decided to shoot."
The rest of the second period proved to be a chess match, as the Cavaliers and Seminoles moved the ball back and forth without any real promising scoring opportunities. After allowing one goal and two other excellent scoring chances in the first half, Virginia's defense played very well in the second. The Cavs tightened the screws on Florida State's explosive offense and held it scoreless in the period.
Virginia entertained a great opportunity to put home the winning goal in the 8th minute as seniors Shannon Foley and Becky Sauerbrunn worked a nice give and go attempt. Foley's centering pass, however, was just too strong for Sauerbrunn as she was unable to get a handle on the ball. At the end of regulation the game remained tied 1-1.
In the second overtime period Virginia appeared to have scored the winning goal, but the Cavs were ruled offside by the referee and the apparent goal was not counted.
"That was probably our most minutes of good soccer we've put together," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "I was happy with our performance. Florida State is a very good team."
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